The Art Of Coopting Environmentalists

"Playa Vista's engineered marsh is there to catch the development's urban run-off – a legal requirement in order to permit the construction of the extremely unattractive new buildings now hulking over the other side of the intersection of Lincoln and Jefferson. The California Coastal Commission allowed the coastal wetlands area designated for the catch basin to be bulldozed and dredged – usually a significant legal no-no – as the result of a sleight-of-hand trick of the type that historically seems to accompany matters involving water, politics, and Los Angeles."